We travelled to Rome last Friday.
The snow-capped mountains seen in the early morning light on the way from Lanciano to Rome were spectacular.
Our first tour was of the National Museum of Roma which houses a fine collection of ancient statues, sculpture, mosaics and frescoes.
The wall mounted design behind the students is in fact a section of a mosaic floor.
One is certainly impressed by the skill of the artisans who created such objects of beauty.
The top floor of the museum is dedicated to mosaics and frescoes. When examined up close, it is obvious that the size of the stones used are as small as a half square centimetre.
The photo below shows a mosaic floor and the frescoed walls of a home excavated some years ago in Rome. Below that is a photo of the actual excavation.
Following that, we toured a church, Santa Maria d. Angeli which Michelangelo restored from an abandoned section of the ancient Diocletian Baths. It is significant in part because of the Meridian Line that transposes its floor. It was used up until the 19th C. as the time measure for all clocks in Rome. In this building one sees an interesting combination of religion, science and astrology as the length of the Meridian Line is marked with astrological signs.
After lunch, students went into different groups for tours – The Jewish Ghetto, Angels and Demons (a Bernini in Rome tour), The Colosseum and Forum and a Caravaggio tour.
Following the rain and fog on Saturday, we awoke to clear blue skies on Sunday. A number of students and staff went skiing at Roccaraso in pristine conditions.
